Mike Norman
Crawfordsville has been ranked one of the safest cities in Indiana, based on federal crime data.
The ranking comes from security-based consumer website Security Baron, which analyzed FBI crime reports from 2016 and 2017 to determine the state’s 50 safest cities. The study was published before last year’s statistics were available.
Crawfordsville placed 37th on the list with an average safety score of 70.56, factoring in the city’s population, median income and household income. Bluffton had the highest score at 89.94 and Seymour ranked last with a score of 63.75.
“CPD is proud to make the list of top 50 safest cities, but we still have a lot of work to do and plans are being made to make some improvements,” Crawfordsville Police Chief Mike Norman said.
With more officers on the force, Norman said the department plans to become more proactive with drug crime offenses and in higher crime areas.
Crawfordsville’s rate of violent crimes — including murder and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — was 4.75 per 1,000 people, the study found.
Most of those crimes were aggravated assaults, a trend that continued in 2018, according to FBI data released Monday.
The property crime rate — such as burglary, theft or larceny, vehicle thefts and arson — stood at 25.67 per 1,000 people, according to the study. Theft or larceny makes up most of the offenses.
Crawfordsville has a citizen-officer ratio of 2.12 per 1,000 people, according to the study. There were 41 law enforcement employees on staff in 2018, according to the FBI.
